Archive for January, 2015

Florida charter schools have been coming under fire for a number of reasons lately, not the least of them financial. With charter schools closing down and leaving taxpayers holding the bag on financial losses, questions have arisen if they should be required to put up a school bond as part of the requirements for opening a charter school in Florida.

This may sound drastic to many but the need is real as charter school find themselves in financial circumstances that force them to close with alarming regularity in Florida. Currently, there are no legal requirements that surety bonds, in the form of a school bond, are required in Florida for anyone opening a charter school in the state. While this may be a requirement in many other states for this very reason, in Florida the need is just now being considered to protect taxpayers.

School Bond Requirements

Florida considering requiring a school bond for a non-government entity to open a charter school is not a new idea. In many states, including Oklahoma and Maine, surety school bonds are required. These states see surety bonds as a way to protect taxpayers from paying double for the cost of a charter school.

It is true that the concept of charter schools is to create alternative education under the same umbrella as state-funded schools. But not all states have the same school bond requirements to protect their taxpayers from abuse. In Palm Beach County alone five schools closed that cost the local taxpayers $420,000 according to School Board member Chuck Shaw. If all charter schools are required to carry school bonds as a surety against financial failure, this kind of loss may be mitigated.

Get Bonded at BuySurety

For anyone who has never had to go through the process of getting bonded, finding the right surety bond can be bewildering. Having the knowledgeable customer service agents here at BuySurety will certainly make the process easier. For any kind of surety need, whether it is school bonds for a Florida charter school or bid bonds for that next municipal construction project, we can help. Come by the BuySurety site today and find out just how easy it is to get bonded for school bonds, bid bonds or any kind of surety bond at BuySurety.

Say Atlantic City and what immediately comes to mind is the boardwalk with all of its glitzy casinos. Performance Bond requirements just don’t pop up in our consciousness as quickly. Maybe they should. A recent bid to provide the city with new Boardwalk tram service has hit a bump in the road because of a disagreement over Performance Bond requirements. It seems Atlantic City has one set of requirements on the books and another as part of its project bidding requirements. So which set of performance bond requirements takes precedence?

Bidding Performance Bond Requirements

When Atlantic City invited bids to provide the tram service along The Boardwalk, they did not include a Performance Bond requirement. When the bid was awarded, a competitor argued that the deal should be invalidated. Among the reasons was the lack of any Performance Bond requirements for the winning bid.
It seems that these surety bonds are required by city code for anyone providing a service, such as these trams, for the city. With the surety bonds not part of the bid requirement, they weren’t provided or part of the costs when the bid was submitted and accepted. So now what?

Do City Requirements Trump Bid Requirements?

The winning bid by B&B did include proof that the company had the financial resources to provide and run the tram service. But it did not specifically provide Performance Bonds since they were not requested in the bid.
The city’s Director of Licensing states that so long as he judges it to be within the best interests of the city he is allowed to issue specifications that are not always aligned with current requirements. But this may not get them off the hook. It turns out that the courts will have to decide if this is true or not.

Performance Bond Requirements Met at BuySurety

In the end this shows that even if the bid doesn’t require you to take out a Performance Bond as part of your bid, knowing local Performance Bond requirements is always smart. For any type of bid that involves government organizations, Performance Bonds are so often required that it is good policy to simply provide that possibility even if not a requirement.
Not sure if your state or municipality requires a Performance Bond in your next bid? Be sure – talk to one of the highly knowledgeable customer service representatives at BuySurety and make sure your next bid is covered.
Performance Bonds for any bid process with a government entity just make sense. Come by the BuySurety site today and make sure your next bid covers any Performance Bond requirement.

An issue over the School Bonds required by the state has created havoc at a Milwaukee voucher-program high school. Because these important surety bonds have not been supplied, Milwaukee’s Travis Technology High School has had to close its doors until the matter is resolved.
The voucher-paid operator of the school is barred from continuing to receive the tax money from the voucher program until it complies with state regulations. These regulations include requiring voucher-supported schools to supply a School Bond to protect the state against bad business decisions by the operator. These include the kinds of decisions that could close a school after tax-supplied vouchers had been financed for the year.

School Bonds Create Low Income Haven

Not everyone who wants to attend a private school can afford it. But taxpayer-supported vouchers make many low-income students able to attend private schools even if they cannot afford the tuition. To protect the state from the failure and subsequent loss to taxpayers for tuitions paid when schools are closed due to operator failures, surety bonds are required for all voucher-supported schools. The vouchers are supported by taxpayers and help cover the operating costs of private schools, generally religious-based schools, for low income students who would benefit from such schools. Generally these schools would charge a special tuition to cover such operating costs. Milwaukee’s highly successful voucher system, The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, has been running longer than any other voucher system in the country. It has created alternative schooling options for low and middle-income students since 1990.

Missed Deadlines

In addition to missing the deadline to submit the School Bonds for the high school, the operator has been under review for questions regarding the number of family members of the founder working at the schools. A recent review revealed that several teachers did not have a Masters Degree (a requirement in Minneapolis) and the two principals of the business were pulling six figure salaries while parents complained of a lack of textbooks at the schools. All of these allegations are currently being reviewed in addition to the missing School Bonds.

School Bonds Guarantee Performance

All of these complaints may well in the end be resolved. However, this situation is a good example of why surety bonds in the form of School Bonds are required by most municipalities for all privately run schools. These bonds will help to protect the taxpayers from loss and guarantee closer scrutiny of the way a private school is run to ensure students are receiving the best possible education.

Find School Bonds and other Surety Bonds at BuySurety

So many businesses these days require surety bonds that it is always a good idea to check first when stating a business in a new industry. Just as many municipalities and states require School Bonds from any private school, many public officials are required to post a Public Officials Bond and driving schools are required to post a Driving School Bond. Discover if your business needs to be bonded by talking to one of our friendly and knowledgeable customer service reps today. Get bonded at BuySuretyand find out just how fast and easy it can be.

It is important for businesses to know their surety bond facts to inspire trust

Do you have all the surety bond facts you need to understand everything you need to know about surety bonds? It isn’t really that unusual for business professionals who suddenly find themselves in need of a surety bond not actually having all the surety bond facts they need to know in order to make a smart business decision about them. Here are some of the questions we often get around here that will help you to have those all important facts about surety bonds at your fingertips.

Do I Really Need to Get Bonded with a Surety Bond?

If you do business on a regular basis with various government institutions or agencies, then you will quickly find that they will require that you have a surety bond in place. This is because a surety bond can ensure that a business conducts business in an ethical manner and within the rules and regulations set out for that industry. Some trades, such as construction, are almost impossible to work in without a working knowledge of the basic surety bond facts and regulations.

How Does Pricing Work in Surety Bonds?

While there are a variety of factors that play into the pricing of a surety bond, the biggest one has to be risk. While it is true that the type of surety bond, the amount of the bond required and the applicant’s financial history play a part – risk is a big factor when it comes to pricing out a surety bond. Some bonds, such as Notary Bonds are relatively low risk and can often be issued the same day they are requested. Other surety bonds such as an Auto Dealer Bond will involve an assessment of the dealer’s financial background as well as the risk involved with all known surety bond facts assessed.

Surety Bond facts – How Long To Get Bonded?

Here at BuySurety we are proud to say that getting bond is fast and easy, especially when you know all the surety bond facts about getting bonded. Just contact us today and tell us what you need, supply the financial records we need for your particular type of surety bond and we will be able to tell you right away what it will take to get you bonded. Often you will find you can be that surety bond the same day. Why wait? Get all the surety bond facts you need to know now and get bonded today.

The state of Washington has made changes to the regulations regarding the solicitation of fundraising for charitable donations. These changes, passed within the last few months, include changes to the requirements for fundraiser bonds. While the changes are not sweeping in nature, they will affect a wide array of organizations within the state.

They are primarily concerned with ensuring that anyone who solicits for funds on behalf of a charitable organization is properly vetted and covered by a fundraiser surety bond. While many charitable and non-profit organizations may have a small army of volunteers, the new regulations are primarily concerned with overseeing the conduct of anyone who is paid to solicit funds but is not an employee of the organization.

New Fundraiser Bond Requirements

This new fundraiser bond will now be required of anyone who solicits funds on the charities behalf, including anyone who receives payment for doing so. The types of organizations that will be included in this new surety bond requirement are:

Religious organizations

Charitable organizations

Educational organizations

Scientific organizations

Literary organizations

Environmental organizations

Humanitarian organizations

Patriotic organizations

Civic organizations

Organizations that test for public safety

Organizations involved in national or international organized sports

Organizations that help prevent cruelty to animals

Organizations that help prevent cruelty to children

Social welfare organizations

Organizations that support anyone who performs for the public safety including law enforcement and firefighters

The new surety bonds will be required of anyone working for one of these organizations who receive compensation in any form for soliciting funds to support these organizations. The new bond amount is $25,000.

Why Require Surety Bonds?

Many other states require the posting of a surety bond by anyone whose work entails handling money for a non-profit or charitable organization. The reasoning is clear – to protect the state from any financial loss that results from the individuals conduct while soliciting for these organizations. While employees tend to be covered by previous requirements, this new surety bond bill will also require employees that are hired through a contract or any independent contractors to abide by these regulations.

BuySurety Provides Fundraiser Bonds

If you or anyone in your organization thinks you may need to supply one of these surety bonds for your fundraisers, BuySurety can make help. Our friendly and courteous customer service agents can quickly walk you through the process and have you qualified for your Fundraiser Bond fast.
Don’t put off any longer making sure that your non-profit or charitable organization is being properly covered. If you need any type of surety bond, BuySurety can help you get qualified and bonded quickly. Call us today to find out just how easy getting your Fundraiser Bond or any other type of surety bond can be.